So here are some extremely twisted, humor-is-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder motorcycle links. (Please note ratings in parenthesis. You have been warned!) Aerostich Sidebar Readings. (Rated: Fun for the whole family) OK, this is not really very twisted,...

Even More Laughs! Humor In Retail Email, Once Again - Mediapost.com

Seems like a great time to revisit the topic of inbox humor and look at how senders have been delivering cheer. Barneys New York's welcome email takes a playful, sassy stance. The gorgeous and stylish model, still in the process of curling her hair,...

Deadpan humor at the Strand - Examiner.com

Grammy-award nominated humorist and bestselling author David Sedaris will make an appearance at the Strand Bookstore, one of New York City's most famous bookstores, located on 828 Broadway at 12th St. The event will be held on June 2nd from 6:00-8:00...

Mid-Day Business and Professional Women will host "Humor, Hugs and Health," presented by Kathy Altergott, at its June 17 meeting. Altergott, a retired nurse and mother of four from Green Bay, believes strongly in the health benefits of the simple acts...

Monson, an honor student, addressed the crowd and his fellow graduates with humor and hope. Monson said he needs to distance himself from his brother, Paul, who delivered a speech to the Class of 2002. He claimed in his brother's speech, Mr. Geiermann...

But hundreds of viewers did not see the humor -- or humour -- and filed complaints. Monday, the Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council said it found "nothing redeeming in the allegedly comedic notion that an American president should be shot,...

Playwright Yussef El Guindi had to learn to lighten up a bit - Dallas Morning News

So he taught himself to write flat-out comedies, complete with slapstick physical humor. One of them is Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes, which Kitchen Dog Theater opens on Friday as the main attraction of its 2009 New Works Festival....

His speech was full of humor and Yale pride as he addressed his alma mater. Buckley, who contributes to many national publications, began his address with an apology. He had given a speech at his graduation in 1975 and quoted something he had seen...

It does however function as a wonderful example of what is, in my opinion, one of the highest and most noble forms of humor: gallows humor. The fact that humans handle stress in myriad ways has been well-documented by psychologists for years....

By JENNIFER RIPSLINGER • jripslin@dmreg.com • May 26, 2009 As Dowling Catholic graduates prepared for their next adventures in life, Pax Christie recipient Ashley Block told her classmates, "Never change." The message is so dear to her she had it...

Humor River (Bistriţa)

Good Humor

Good Humor is an American brand of ice cream novelties sold from ice cream trucks as well as stores and other retail outlets. Originally, Good Humors were chocolate coated ice cream bars on a stick, but the line was expanded over the years to include a wide range of novelties. The Good Humor company started in Youngstown, Ohio during the early 1920s and covered most of the country by the mid 1930s. Good Humor became a fixture in American popular culture, and at its peak in the 1950s, the company operated 2,000 "salescars".

In 1961, Good Humor was acquired by Thomas J. Lipton, the U.S. subsidiary of the international Unilever conglomerate. Profits declined when the baby boomers aged and costs increased because of labor issues, gasoline and insurance. The company sold its fleet in 1978, but continued to distribute its products through grocery stores and independent street vendors. By 1984, Good Humor returned to profitability. Starting in 1989, Unilever expanded Good Humor through its acquisition of Gold Bond Ice Cream that included the Popsicle brand. Four years later, Unilever bought Isaly Klondike and the Breyers Ice Cream Company. Good Humor-Breyers is now a large producer of branded ice cream and frozen novelties with nine plants around the country.

Harry Burt (1875-1926), owner of a Youngstown, Ohio ice cream parlor and confectioner invented chocolate covered ice cream on a stick about 1920 or 1921 (the exact date was subject to considerable litigation). He discovered that a wooden stick served as a convenient handle if inserted into a ice cream bar because it formed a strong bond when the ice cream cystallized. Burt outfitted twelve street vending trucks in Youngstown with rudimentary freezers and bells to sell his "Good Humor Ice Cream Suckers". In October 1923, he was granted patents for both the process and manufacturing equipment, but not for the product. By 1925, his son, Harry Burt Jr. (1900 – 1972) opened a franchise in Miami, Florida.

After Burt Senior died in 1926, his widow sold the rights to a group of Cleveland businessmen who formed Good Humor of America. Thomas J. Brimer (1900-1978) purchased the franchise for the Detroit territory and by 1929 opened his second plant in Chicago. The mob demanded protection money and destroyed part of the company's Chicago fleet when Brimer refused. The resulting publicity helped put Good Humor on the map.

Brimer's father-in-law was a friend of Michael J. Meehan (1891-1948), a controversal New York stock speculator who made a small investment in Brimer's operation. When Brimer paid a 25% dividend in 1929, Meehan financed the acquisition of 75% of Good Humor of America for $500,000. Meehan's wife, Elizabeth Higgins Meehan was the registered owner of the stock along with Mrs. John J. Raskob, the wife of another New York stock speculator.

The Meehan family’s Good Humor Corporation of America operated in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Detroit and Chicago. There were also three major franchises: Good Humor of Baltimore/Washington operated by the Brimer family, Burt’s Good Humor operated by Harry Burt Jr. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Good Humor of California. In addition, distributors served Clevelend, Philadelphia, Albany and Miami. Meehan's investment quickly returned dividends. In 1931, Good Humor reported a net profit of $452,105, almost as much as Meehan paid for the company.

Good Humor was successful because it provided customers with an inexpensive diversion during the Depression. Jobs were scarce and Good Humor found all the employees it could use, despite an 80-hour work week and paramilitary discipline. A vendor could be fired for not smartly saluting a customer or saying "Good Humor Ice Cream" instead of the proper "Ice Cream Good Humor". While drivers were only paid commissions, it was not unusual for driver to clear the then princely sum of over $100 per week. The company used a range of conveyances including trucks, push carts, bicycles and shoulder boxes. To promote the product, customers won a free Good Humor if they found "lucky stick" stamped on the stick of their ice cream. However, in 1939 the Federal Trade Commission outlawed the promotion as an illegal lottery.

The company was more successful in attracting favorable publicity by parking trucks outside of motion picture studios. Over the years, Good Humor appeared in over 200 movies. In 1950, Jack Carson starred in the feature motion picture, "The Good Humor Man. After World War II, the company moved into the expanding suburbs to serve the baby boomers. 55% of Good Humor's customers were age twelve or younger and trucks now accounted for 90% of the company's sales. By 1956, the company's fleet grew to 2,000 trucks, known as "sales cars", all purchased since the war.

In 1937, Michael Meehan became the first broker banned by the Securities and Exchange Commission for stock manipulation and transferred his enterprises to his sons. Two years later, 21 year-old Joseph A. Meehan (1917-1972) became the youngest broker with a seat on the NY Stock Exchange and chairman of Good Humor Corporation, a position he held until 1961. In 1956, Meehan hired 32 year-old David J. Mahoney (1923-2000) as President of Good Humor. Mahoney was the head of the advertising firm serving Good Humor and later became the President of the large Norton Simon conglomerate. In his five years at Good Humor, he increased sales 36%.

As Mrs. Elizabeth H. Meehan advanced in years, the family faced estate planning issues and in 1961 agreed to sell Good Humor of America to Thomas J. Lipton, a subsidiary of Unilever. Lipton also purchased Good Humor of Baltimore/Washington from Thomas Brimer. In a separate transaction, the other franchises agreed to stop using the Good Humor name. Of the four distributors, only Philadelphia survived as a company branch. Lipton quickly created a grocery division to sell Good Humor products in supermarkets.

Mahoney left the company after the acquisition and Lipton executives soon characterized Good Humor as a "problem". Much of the fleet purchased immediately after the war was now at the end of its useful life. Further, as the baby boomers matured, sales on many suburban routes declined. While almost from the beginning Good Humor faced competition from companies such as Jack and Jill Ice Cream, Bungalow Bar, etc, it was not until the advent of soft ice cream trucks operated by companies such as Mister Softee that competition impacted sales. Insurance costs also increased because courts found ice cream vendors responsible for pedestrian accidents while crossing to and from the truck.

Good Humor replaced some of its older conventional trucks with large vans designed to compete with Mr Softee. Many of these "inside salescars" are still operating after over 40 years. However, the size of the fleet gradually declined and by the early 1970s the number of trucks was down to 1,200. Good Humor also worked with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to equip vending trucks with school bus “stop” swing arms to reduce pedestrian accidents.

Good Humor was not able to solve its labor problems. The company was unionized early in its history and was struck on several occasions. For example, in 1950 the Teamsters shut down Good Humor's New York operations for three weeks during the critical month of June. Beginning in the 1950s, the labor pool dried up and Good Humor operated over half of its fleet with seasonal employees, mostly college students. On average, new employees lasted only two to three weeks because of the long hours. The entire industry, except Good Humor, stopped using commissioned employees and became distributors who leased trucks to the drivers and sold them product wholesale. Good Humor adopted this system wherever possible, but was prevented from converting most branches because of union contracts.

Good Humor became unprofitable beginning in 1968. An increase in gasoline prices during the early 70s made the situation worse. After absorbing losses for ten years, in 1978 Good Humor decided to sell the fleet and become a distributor itself. The trucks were sold for $1,000 to $3,000 a vehicle and many of the former Good Humor vendors became independent business owners. As one reported, "I make sure I shut off the engine when I stop now that I'm paying for the gas." Ironically, many former competitors also became distributors of Good Humor products. The grocery division continued to expand and by 1984 Good Humor returned to profitability.

Unilever, the world's largest marketer of ice cream products, decided to achieve a similiar market position in the U.S. through acquisitions. In 1989, Unilever purchased Gold Bond Ice Cream of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and with it, the Popsicle family of frozen novelties. In 1993, Unilever bought Isaly Klondike and the Breyers Ice Cream Company and combined these operations into the renamed Good Humor-Breyers. Sales for 2006 were $1.2 billion. The company operates nine manufacturing plants in the United States and employees 3,000 people. Since 2000, Good Humor is one of numerous Unilever ice cream subsidiaries to use the international Heartbrand for its logo.

In parlance of the original company, a "Good Humor" was a three-ounce chocolate coated vanilla ice cream bar on a stick. By 1960, the product line had grown to 85 flavors or combinations. Other "Good Humors" included chocolate coated chocolate (a.k.a. chocolate malt) and chocolate coated strawberry, plus bars coated in toasted almond, coconut, chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake and chocolate éclair. Weekly specials came in a wide assortment of flavors including a red, white and blue Good Humor for the 4th of July. Among the specials that did not become popular were Oregon prune and California fig Good Humors. The company even experimented with tomato sherbet.

In 1965, the company introduced "Super Humors", initially Chocolate Chip Candy and Chocolate Fudge Cake with a candy center. The next year, all Good Humors became larger Super Humors to justify a price increase. Good Humor also produced a variety of other novelties, including some unique items. The "Humorette" line included an especially popular raspberry sherbet with a peach ice cream center. "Double stixs" featured favor combinations such as raspberry/orange and lemon/lime. In Baltimore/Washington, inexpensive ice pops known as "lollies" were so successful that the company purchased special high capacity salescars for some routes. Today, the product line consists of some of the classic Super Humors and items added in the Popsicle and Klondike acquisitions.

The company's history also includes many stories such the Good Humor vendor who rushed a baby to a hospital for treatment or how the company helped break up a counterfeit money operation in Long Island, New York. During World War II, a Good Humor truck was assigned to follow one of the armies during maneuvers. The commander could not understand how the opposing artillery was quickly locating his position until he realized that the spotters were using the white Good Humor truck as a guide. Rather than deny his troops ice cream, that night he ordered the truck be painted army green. After the war, a Good Humor vendor took pity on a youngster who was a nickle short, and accepted a new magazine in place of the missing 5 cents. When he returned the next day, the street was lined with stacks of magazines, piled by children eager to exchange periodicals for Good Humors.

Off-color humor

The term off-color humor (also known as dirty jokes or blue humor) is an Americanism used to describe jokes, prose, poems, black comedy and skits that deal with topics that are considered to be in poor taste or overly vulgar by the prevailing morals in a culture. Most commonly labeled as "off-color" are acts concerned with sex, a particular ethnic group, or gender. Other off-color topics include violence, particularly domestic abuse; excessive swearing or profanity; "toilet humor"; national superiority or inferiority, dead baby jokes, pedophilic content, and any other topics generally considered impolite or indecent. Generally, the point of off-color humor is to induce laughter by evoking a feeling of shock and surprise in the comedian's audience. In this way, "blue" humor is related to other forms of postmodern humor, such as the anti-joke.

Off-color humor was used in Ancient Greek comedy, primarily by its most famous contributor and representative, Aristophanes. His work parodied some of the great tragedians of his time, especially Euripedes, using sexual and excremental jokes that received great popularity among his contemporaries but would be considered embarrassing in the Christian milieu.

Dirty jokes were once considered subversive and underground, and rarely heard in public. Comedian Lenny Bruce was tried, convicted, and jailed for obscenity after a stand up performance that included off-color humor in New York City in 1964. Comedian and actor Redd Foxx was well known in nightclubs in the 1960s and 1970s for his raunchy stand-up act, but toned it down for the television shows Sanford and Son and The Redd Foxx Comedy Hour, stating in the first monologue of the latter show that the only similarity between the show and his nightclub act was that "I'm smoking". American society has become increasingly tolerant of off-color humor since that time. Such forms of humor have become widely distributed and more socially acceptable, in part due to the mainstream success in the 1970s and 1980s of comedians like Dolemite, Andrew Dice Clay's "The Dice Man", and Richard Pryor.

In the 1990s and modern era, comedians such as George Carlin and Dave Chappelle use shocking content to draw attention to their criticism of social issues, especially censorship and the socioeconomic divide. The highly-praised television show South Park also popularized the use of offensive humor, for which the show has become infamous. The Aristocrats is perhaps the most famous dirty joke in the US and is certainly one of the best-known and most oft-repeated among comedians themselves.

In India, sexual humor in particular is known as "non-veg" humor, contrasted with the "veg" jokes that are more acceptable in polite company. The use of the term "non-veg" is probably a reference to the carnal nature of sexual humor, and can be viewed in the context of the prevalence of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dietary preferences in India.

Gallows humor

Gallows humor is a type of humor that arises from stressful, traumatic, or life-threatening situations; often in circumstances such that death is perceived as impending and unavoidable. It is similar to black comedy but differs in that it is made by the person affected.

We must all hang together or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

No, darling, I'm what's left of her.

My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death; one or the other of us has got to go.

A famous example of gallows humor is the conclusion to Monty Python's Life of Brian, in which a group of crucified criminals joyfully sings "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

Sigmund Freud in his 1927 essay Humour (Der Humor) puts forth the following theory of the gallows humor: "The ego refuses to be distressed by the provocations of reality, to let itself be compelled to suffer. It insists that it cannot be affected by the traumas of the external world; it shows, in fact, that such traumas are no more than occasions for it to gain pleasure". Some other sociologists elaborated this concept further. At the same time, Paul Lewis warns that this "liberating" aspect of gallows jokes depends on the context of the joke: whether the joke is being told by the threatened person themselves or by someone else.